Houston - The Centenary men's basketball team lost 67-59 to the University of St. Thomas Celts in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest on Tuesday evening inside the Jerabeck Activity and Athletics Center.
The Gents (5-6, 1-2 SCAC) were back in action after recording an 85-45 win over Millsaps last Tuesday at home. The Celts (8-2, 2-1 SCAC) remained perfect at home this season as they upped their record to 6-0. St. Thomas has now won the last seven games between the two teams.
The Celts led 34-26 at halftime and opened the second half on a 13-5 run to take a 47-31 lead at the 15:24 mark, but the Gents responded with an impressive 21-6 run over the next nine minutes to cut their deficit to just one at 53-52 with 6:24 remaining on a 3-point basket by senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.). St. Thomas, though, outscored Centenary 14-7 the rest of the way to seal the win.
Neither team was particularly strong on offense as the Gents shot just 32.7 % (18-55) from the floor for the game and the Celts finished 38.6 % (22-57). Centenary was 9-30 from beyond the arc for 30 % and 14-22 at the free throw line for 63.6 %. St. Thomas was cold from outside as it connected on just 7-26 attempts for 26.9 % and went 16-21 from the FT line (76.2 %).
The Celts scored 30 points in the paint compared to the Gents' 18, Centenary had 11 second-chance points to UST's nine, the Celts finished with nine fast break points to the gents' seven, and Centenary received 21 points from its bench while UST's reserves scored six. Centenary turned the ball over 21 times which led to 20 points for the Celts and the Gents scored 26 points off of the Celts' 16 turnovers.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) led the Gents in scoring with 15 points as he has reached double figures in all 11 games this season. He also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, also a season high, as he recorded his second-consecutive double-double. He was 4-15 from the floor, 3-9 from beyond the arc, and 4-6 at the FT line in 35 minutes with an assist and a blocked shot. Thomas, named the SCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday, has reached double figures 34 times in his last 37 games. He entered the game ranked second in the league in scoring.
Sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) also reached double figures as he scored 12 points on 2-5 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench. He was 1-2 from beyond the arc and 7-8 at the FT line with four rebounds and two assists. Beverly has scored in double figures four times this season and matched his season high which he previously set in the Gents' season-opening win against Texas College last month. Behr scored eight points in 29 minutes on 3-10 shooting and hit a pair of treys and added four rebounds and one assist. Junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) scored seven points on 3-6 shooting in 35 minutes and had six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas) had five points, three rebounds, two steals, and an assist in 24 minutes and freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) had three points, two rebounds, and two assists in 19 minutes. Sophomore G Dalyn Davis (Natchitoches, La.) scored five points in 20 minutes with a rebound and a steal and junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) added three points and a pair of rebounds in his 12 minutes. Senior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.) had one point and a steal in seven minutes.
The Celts' Calvin Williams IV, who entered the game averaging a league-best 21.0 PPG, was held to 11 points on 3-13 shooting in 30 minutes with a pair of rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Wesley Hooker led the Celts with 21 points and Marion Williams added 18 points and had three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 29 minutes. He was 7-15 from the floor and 4-10 from 3-point range. Hooker was 7-9 from the floor, 2-4 from beyond the arc, and 5-6 at the FT line in 30 minutes with nine boards, two assists, and two steals. Elazar Conley led the Celts in rebounding with 10 and had four points in 22 minutes off the bench. Calen Anderson scored seven, Angel Johnson chipped in four, and Nicholas Buffalo scored two.
The Celts were picked to win the conference this season in the preseason coaches' poll while the Gents were predicted to finish fifth as the two teams have established themselves as annual contenders for the conference crown. The regular-season rematch is set for Tuesday, Jan. 30 at the Gold Dome.
The Gents return to action next Tuesday, Dec. 19 with a non-conference contest against the Louisiana Christian University Wildcats in PIneville, La. set for a 7 p.m. tip.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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